At the MassDOT Visualizing Transportation Hackathon, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), in partnership with the Mass Big Data Initiative, will release a series of related data sets on travel in Massachusetts and will open a challenge to the public to collaborate around analyzing this data and visualizing resulting insights to help inform the future of transportation in the Commonwealth. We invite participants to explore a collection of transportation data with a specific focus on travel behavior, road-rail comparisons, and the energy, environmental, and social impacts of transportation mode-choice.

Background

Each day in Massachusetts, travelers throughout the state make individual decisions on how to reach their destinations. Together, the public’s transportation “mode choice” translates into significant outcomes which impact residents across the Commonwealth in many ways, including through traffic congestion, travel costs, and carbon emissions. To better understand traffic flows throughout the state, MassDOT installed pilot network of roadway sensors to provide real-time traffic management (RTTM) information on three major roadways- 93, I-90, and Rt. 3. Each of these roadway “corridors” is paralleled by at least one light rail line. Participants are encouraged to show compelling insights from the available data, with a special priority around presenting the differences between driving vs. riding the train through specific corridors. The event is designed to encourage participants to choose their own most compelling “lens“ through which to analyze the data, which may include: travel cost, emissions, time delays, etc.

Data

The event will draw upon several “core” datasets covering travel behavior. This will provide a foundation from which comparisons can be made within the data and across additional, related regional datasets.

Core datasets:

Real-time Traffic Management Data

Real-time Traffic Management (RTTM) data is collected by MassDOT via a pilot network of sensors that monitor traffic speed in three major roadway corridors (the “three corridors”) in the Boston Metro area: I-90, 93, and Rt. 3. Sensors at regular intervals at the road level recognize and report the signals of bluetooth-enabled mobile devices in cars as they travel along roadways, calculating a the vehicle travel speed associated with travel between specific road-segments. No personally identifiable information is collected. Already successfully tested, this initial pilot network is already in the process of expanding statewide throughout 2014.

At the MassDOT Visualizing Transportation Hackathon, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), in partnership with the Mass Big Data Initiative, will release a series of related data sets on travel in Massachusetts and will open a challenge to the public to collaborate around analyzing this data and visualizing resulting insights to help inform the future of transportation in the Commonwealth. We invite participants to explore a collection of transportation data with a specific focus on travel behavior, road-rail comparisons, and the energy, environmental, and social impacts of transportation mode-choice.

Background

Each day in Massachusetts, travelers throughout the state make individual decisions on how to reach their destinations. Together, the public’s transportation “mode choice” translates into significant outcomes which impact residents across the Commonwealth in many ways, including through traffic congestion, travel costs, and carbon emissions. To better understand traffic flows throughout the state, MassDOT installed pilot network of roadway sensors to provide real-time traffic management (RTTM) information on three major roadways- 93, I-90, and Rt. 3. Each of these roadway “corridors” is paralleled by at least one light rail line. Participants are encouraged to show compelling insights from the available data, with a special priority around presenting the differences between driving vs. riding the train through specific corridors. The event is designed to encourage participants to choose their own most compelling “lens“ through which to analyze the data, which may include: travel cost, emissions, time delays, etc.

Data

The event will draw upon several “core” datasets covering travel behavior. This will provide a foundation from which comparisons can be made within the data and across additional, related regional datasets.

Core datasets:

Real-time Traffic Management Data

Real-time Traffic Management (RTTM) data is collected by MassDOT via a pilot network of sensors that monitor traffic speed in three major roadway corridors (the “three corridors”) in the Boston Metro area: I-90, 93, and Rt. 3. Sensors at regular intervals at the road level recognize and report the signals of bluetooth-enabled mobile devices in cars as they travel along roadways, calculating a the vehicle travel speed associated with travel between specific road-segments. No personally identifiable information is collected. Already successfully tested, this initial pilot network is already in the process of expanding statewide throughout 2014.